Biofeedback applications that provide information directly to patients or to medical professionals

Unobtrusive, Wearable Sensors collect data in real time reducing the cost and inconvenience of visits to the physician. Remote monitoring of Vital Signs is possible with miniaturized wireless nodes, while the advent of smart fabrics means sensors can be worn without discomfort or skin tissue break down.

Wireless Sensor Networks can monitor Vital Signs providing real time Glucose Monitoring, EKG, Blood Pressure and even Brain Activity. Miniature accelerometers and gyroscopes monitor stroke, epilepsy or other events. Health and Wellness applications demand the ultimate in Low power, Size and Reliability. A new generation of SoCs combine low power 802.15.4 (Zigbee), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), R4CE, and ANT radios with low power processors, instrumentation interfaces and RF Energy Harvesting capabilities to provide the Lowest Power Consumption and the Smallest Size. These Sos support wearable, subcutaneous or implantable sensors that require minimal battery back up and connect directly to Smartphones, PDA’s or Laptops.

Compliance

Comliance is enhanced by reminding patients to self medicate or alerting them to their health status with current personalized feedback. Patients pay attention to their status and take a more active role in managing their health. Sensors provide feedback on cardiac condition, glucose levels, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels. Stress, fatigue, impact and even brain activity can also be monitored. Low power multimode SoC solutions are required.

Wireless Healthcare Technology

The key requirements for Wireless Healthcare Technology are:

Interoperability: Devices may use unlicensed bands for general telemetry. Implanted medical devices may use a licensed bands allocated specifically for that purpose by the FCC. Biomedical devices may use the WMTS band (Wireless Medical Telemetry Services, at 608 MHz or the emerging band at 2360-2400MHz

The integration of different types of sensors, instrumentation, data processing, energy harvesting and wireless connectivity within a limited space with extremely low power suggests an new breed of SoC.